Obsessions
by Phoenix-Inferno18
Summary: Valarie ponders what makes Phantom so different. She knows that the answer lies somewhere in the question "What is Danny Phantom's obsession?" Combined with what Danny's newfound difficulties with controlling his powers, this can only lead to trouble. This is set before the events of D-stabilized
1. The Phantom

**Hi guys! This is my first story, I hope you like it! This was originally just a one-shot based on Valerie's musings on what Danny Phantom's obsession is, but due to the uplifting response I got to it I decided to continue it! Oh, and please favorite and review! Anyways, I will stop babbling now. Enjoy!**

 **Obsessions**

The Phantom was an anomaly. That was one thing that Valerie Grey knew. For some unknown reason, it was not like the other ghosts; a fact which irked her to no end. For one thing, it's physical appearance differed from any ghost she had ever seen. Its skin was not a shade of grey, white, green, or even blue; which were standard ghost colors. No, The Phantom's skin was tan, like a human's skin. If it wasn't for the fact that The Phantom emitted the glowing aura that all ghosts gave out, you could mistake it for a human.

In addition to this, The Phantom seemed to be a lot stronger than any other ghost Valerie had come across. For one thing, she had not caught The Phantom yet. This perplexed her. Valerie considered herself to be a proficient ghost hunter, but still she could not manage to capture The Phantom. She knew she was very much capable of catching ghosts, she had brought many ghosts whom she had caught mid-rampage in her ghost containment device to Mr. Masters, who had some way of disposing of them. No, Valerie was very adept at catching ghosts; which just made the whole situation more puzzling.

Even if it was stronger than most ghosts, surely with her expertise and her dedication she should have caught The Phantom by now. Valerie knew this for certain, but somehow –for some unknown reason- she hadn't. She also knew the ghost boy fought off other ghosts regularly, and usually won; so it must be stronger than them. Why the ghost boy fought the other ghosts, she had no idea. But a small part of her wondered why it did this. Was The Phantom territorial, and greedily defending what it considered to be its territory from other ghosts? Were the ghosts its enemies? Was it possible for ghosts to be enemies with other ghosts? Or do is it just a part of ghostly nature to attack and destroy, even if it is attacking a member its own species? Valerie did not know and for the most part didn't care. A ghost was a ghost, it's reasons didn't matter. All that mattered was making sure that it did not get away with whatever evil plot it had.

Valerie had always assumed that the ghosts worked together to terrorize Amity Park, but maybe she was giving the ghosts to much credit. After all, ghosts are not intelligent creatures; they are not alive and do not feel pain. Since they are not able to live together in a town or city, why should the ghosts be capable of teaming up? Or maybe The Phantom was just pretending to fight off the ghosts and was really in cahoots with the other ghosts. Maybe it was biding it's time, gaining the trust of the town so that when it finally betrayed them all their defeat would be even more crushing. Valerie knew that one day it would strike. They would all be unable to defend themselves.

 _Not if I can help it!_ Valerie silently vowed. When Valerie destroyed The Phantom, the town would be safe. The Phantom was the strongest ghost that had ever been spotted. She knew that it had proved to be capable of causing chaos, and that she had to stop it before it did it again. Next time, it may be more than just robbery and attempted murder. Next time she may be in that suit. She winced at the memory.

Back when Valerie was a bit younger and more naïve, she had started to doubt that it was all bad. She had fallen for it's tricks. Well, she had learned the hard way that the ghost boy was not to be trusted after he had destroyed her original armor. She had watched in horror as The Phantom had decimated it, unaware that she was not currently inside it. She knew that if given the chance it might do it again, only this time she might not escape its wrath.

That day was very enlightening for Valerie. She now knew better than to trust a ghost, no matter how good it may be at faking emotions. No matter how different, how real it may seem. No; to trust a ghost was suicide. Valerie knew this now. Though he had seemed real, he was not. He was just a shadow of a person who was no longer living. He may have died thousands of years ago, though Valerie thought it unlikely due to his outfit.

Valerie immediately reprimanded herself for referring to Phantom as "he". The Phantom was just a memory given form. In fact, the boy whose image was stolen by the monster would probably be glad when she destroyed it. Valerie did not believe all of the nonsense about ghosts being "souls". They were just imprints that were created in times of great distress, which were given forms by the ectoplasm in the air. Though Valerie did not belong to a particular religion, she did believe that we go somewhere after we die. And she knew that if she died she would not want her image stolen by an evil fiend like The Phantom.

 _So,_ Valerie pondered. _Something is different about The Phantom, something I've had overlooked. What would be different? Why is The Phantom seemingly unhindered by the laws that seemed to apply to the other ghosts?_ Suddenly, an idea struck her like lightning, sudden and sharp. Valerie nearly face palmed, it was so obvious now! _All ghosts have an obsession, something that was largely impacting the human they resemble at the time of death. For; um what did the ghost boy call it again? Oh yeah, Skulker. Well, for the Skulker it was hunting, for that tech. ghost it was technology, and for- The Box Ghost_.

Now _that_ was a name that there was no danger of forgetting. The menace had a habit of turning up at the worst time possible, and no matter how many times Valerie caught it would somehow reappear, sometimes not a minute later. She was nearly certain that it either had a way to escape her G.C.D. (Ghost Containment Device) or it could duplicate itself and she was just catching the copies. Though the ghost itself was not very threatening, it's constant reappearance was driving Valerie up a wall! The other day it had made an appearance as she was just about finished with her nightly patrol, forcing her to persue it all over town. This made her even later for curfew than normal, a fact that her father had noticed and certainly did not appreciate.

 _Someday I have to figure out how Mr. Masters gets rid of the other ghosts and why this does not seem to work on- as The Phantom has "affectionately" dubbed the ghost- "Boxy._

 _Snap out of it Val!_ she chastised herself. _Back on topic!_ So, where was she? _Oh yeah._ Valerie recalled. Obsessions. Every ghost had an obsession, so Valerie was certain that The Phantom must have one too. Now that Valerie realized this, she knew she had to figure it out. Obsessions gave the ghost's power, which meant that they were also the ghosts weaknesses. If a ghost is unable to fulfill their obsession, they fade out of existence. Poof! No more ghost. Thus, discovering The Phantom's obsession would mean discovering its weakness. If she knew the Phantom's weakness, she would finally be able to defeat it; or at least get it to show her some respect. The Phantom seemed to take everything she said to it as a joke; it was making "witty" retorts back at her. _But then again, what more should I expect out of a ghost._ Valerie reasoned

She then paused, could The Phantom's obsession be humor? She quickly dismissed this though. Though The Phantom had no shortage of jokes and witty comebacks at his disposal, it just didn't fit. It could be a part of the larger obsession. That was another unusual thing about Phantom, it had an uncanny resemblance to a personality. It was part of what had caught Valerie off guard before she had wised up. Though most ghosts had very one track "minds", the Phantom seemed almost human sometimes. He didn't seem to fixate on a particular thing, except maybe "protecting" people.

 _Could protecting be Phantom's obsession? It would explain why he "protected" Amity Park. Maybe the he had died protecting somebody?_

Valerie face-palmed. She had started to refer to Phantom as a "him" again. The Phantom did not deserve to be personified, not after everything it had done. And besides, though protection did seem likely, it did not explain the banter or why it had attacked her and kidnapped the mayor and stolen all of that stuff. Actually, scratch that. The kidnapping and the attacking and the stealing could all be written off as ghostly nature, but it still did not explain why Phantom was so- prone to joking. And besides, if its obsession was protection then it would constantly create danger just so it could protect people from it. As far as she knew it did not do this, at least not constantly like it would if it was its obsession.

It was almost like it had multiple obsessions. _Could this be it? Was it possible for a ghost to have multiple obsessions? That would explain why The Phantom could be so humanlike_. Valerie suspected that having multiple obsessions could create something that loosely resembles a personality. If it did have multiple obsessions then it may be much harder than anticipated to get it to fade out, thus making it much harder to eliminate The Phantom through that course of action.

Valerie was snapped out of her thoughts by the beeping of her ghost detection device. She hung her head and sighed, knowing she was not going to be getting much – if any- sleep that night. Thoughts still racing through her head, she softly inched her window open, powered up her new suit, and slipped into the darkness.

Yeah, well, I really hope you liked it! Remember, please review and favorite! It only takes like 10 seconds and it means the world to me!


	2. The Search for Answers

Hi guys! Well, I said if the story seems popular I might continue it, so here I am! I was blown away when I saw how soon people saw this story and by how kind and helpful the reviews were! Anyways, here is chapter 2! I hope you guys like it!

Valerie soared over the streets, following her tracker. She loved flying, it was one of her favourite things about her "job" as the Red Hunter. She loved the feeling of the wind rushing past her, the thrill of the chase, and the satisfaction of a job well done. She especially When she arrived at where it had led her, she groaned. She was at a post office. She knew only one ghost who would be interested in this place.

" **Beware!"** Valerie jumped at the sudden sound. **"For I am The Box Ghost! Prepare to pummeled by my cubic shipping containers- Of doom!"** Valerie winced as she saw the boxes it had been levitating start to fly towards her, glowing a sickly green the color of ectoplasm. Though the threat was not very- ummmm - threatening, Valerie did not appreciate the idea of being pelted with boxes at 1 o'clock in the morning.

"Ok ghost!" Valerie yelled, dodging the boxes on her hoverboard. "I really don't feel like dealing with your nonsense right now! Either go back to the Ghost Zone, or I will make you go back!"

" **No way!"** the ghost monologue. **"For I am the box ghost! I shall not stop until you are buried under the possesions of-"** Valerie blinked as the ghost proceded to check the label on the package. **"Paulina Sanchez!"**

Valerie groaned. If the something in one of the boxes broke then nobody at school would hear the end of it. "Miss Popular" would whine and moan about it all day and everyone would be miserable. "Why does my life have to be so hard?!" Valerie lamented. "Nobody else has to deal with two jobs, Ghost hunting, _and_ a horrible house!" She felt her eyes narrow. "It is all that ghost boy's fault! If it didn't have to show up with it's stupid ghost dog, none of this would have ever happened! Life was perfect before The Phantom came and ruined everything!"

Speak of the devil.

"Hey Boxy, watch doing? Some of us are trying to sleep you know?!" Valerie heard a familiar voice say, tinged with the echo that was exclusive to ghosts. Valerie clunched her fists tighter, before pausing. _Ghost's need to sleep?_ She wondered, filing the information away in her mind. **"Phantom! Prepare to be pummeled by my cubic shipping containers- of doom!"** the box ghost once again yelled.

"Phantom!" Valerie yelled, nearly howling with rage. "Of course you would have to show up! It's not enough to have to fight _it_ -" She said, gesturing to The Box Ghost. "But now I also have to fight you! Why can't you just go back to the ghost zone; where you belong, and just stay there!"

"Valerie!" It exclaimed. Evidentially The Phantom had not been aware of her presence. "I didn't see you there! Hi?" It said, rubbing it's neck in what could have been seen as a nervous gesture if done by a human. But The Phantom wasn't human, she knew that. She wasn't falling for it's tricks this time!

She jumped to the side, firing a shot from her ecto-blaster before it had a chance to react. Valerie saw it's eyes widen as it saw the incoming blast. _Gotcha ghost_. Valerie smirked, there was no way it was dodging that shot!

Sure enough, the shot was right on target. The Phantom was falling. It landed on the cold floor with a look of shock on its "face", that if Valerie didn't know better she would label as a look of betrayal. She shook it off. _Why would The Phantom feel betrayed? I'm it's enemy, right?_ Valerie shook of the thought. Of course she was its enemy, she was dedicated to wiping it off the face of the earth, and possibly the ghost zone too! But still, that look- it was so- humanlike. Valerie almost felt sorry for the ghost before she reminded herself it was the enemy. It is evil, and manipulative. _It's probably trying to make me feel sorry for it, and I'm letting it work. Snap out of it Val, this is your chance!"_

Valerie slowly approached it- confidant on the outside- but extremely nervous on the inside. She had nailed it, but she had seen it shake off worse things before. _It could be pretending, to get you to let your guard down_.

Valerie carefully poked it with the ectogun. It's eyes were closed, but it's chest was rising and falling. Then it wasn't unconscious, it was pretending to breath. _Ghosts don't breath, do they? Unless this has something to do with his obsession. But no, what could it have to do with that? It must be just another odd thing about The Phantom. Unless it was faking. Was it?_

Valerie moved around the side of The Phantom, carefully poking it again. This time it jolted up. "Val, where are we?" Valerie froze. Something about that voice- reminded her of someone else. _Darn ghost, its way to good at this. It can manipulate your heartstrings whenever it wants! So what if it sounds like Danny; it's not him! This is a ghost. A vile piece of ectoplasmic scum. It was not Danny!_

"Stay down you piece of ectoplasmic filth," Valerie snarled. "And it's not Val to you, it's the Red Hunter."

"Geez, sorry" It pretended to apologize. "But I won't stop calling you Val until you stop calling me "ghost". I have a name you know! You could use it!"

"You don't deserve a name." Valerie spat, outraged. If he was cracking jokes again, then it wasn't long until he became oriented, and she didn't want that.

"Ok _ghost,_ " She said, pressing the ectogun against its head. "I am going to ask some question, and you are going to answer all of them truthfully. Do I make myself clear?'

Its eyes widened, and it nodded it's head just a little too quickly. It was nervous. "Yes, very very very clear. I totally understand. No problem." It rambled.

Valerie was a bit surprised that the ghost was being so cooperative, but then again she was holding an ecto gun to it's head. "Ok then ghost, first question. Why are you so different from the other ghosts? What makes you so special?"

The Phantom blinked nervously, it seemed that it was not expecting that question. And from the look on it's face, it did not want Valerie to know the Answer.

"What do you mean? I'm a ghost, nothing more to it! There is absolutely nothing unique, special, or unusual about me! I'm an open book!" it stuttered. Valerie studied it, it was obviously hiding something. And Valerie was going to find out what.

"Don't lie to me ghost, you know what I'm talking about!" Valerie fumed. "What is it? Is it your obsession?!"

 _Maybe the ghost is obsessed with lying. Or with confusing people. That would explain why it pretends to be good one moment then reveals it's true self the next._ Valerie pondered, as she watched the ghost falter, seemingly stumbling for words.

"My obsession?" It squeaked. "What do you mean my obsession?"

Valerie was losing patience, this ghost was obviously toying with her. "You know, your obsession! The thing that holds you here?" She paused seeing the confusion on the ghost's face slowly fade into realization. "Don't toy with me, what is it?!"


	3. The Escape

Well, this story has seemingly taken on a life of its own! I have decided to use an idea that I was saving for another, it just seems right. It will come into play later on. So here is chapter 3, enjoy!

Chapter 3

The ghost boy looked like up at Valerie in shock- resembling a deer in the headlights. "Umm, I don't know?" it nervously stated.

"You don't know." Valerie stated in disbelief. "You're a ghost, how can you not know your own obsession! It's not possible!" Valerie voiced these thoughts aloud, her voice tinged with incredulousness.

After a tangible silence that seemed to last hours- but was in reality probably only about 10 seconds- Valerie came to a conclusion. "You're lying again." She flatly stated. "All ghosts know their obsessions, otherwise how would they fulfill them? You haven't disappeared, so you must be fulfilling it. That means you know what it is."

"No, I swear I don't know! Maybe I'm fulfilling it unintentionally, or maybe I don't have one!" It ranted. "I just know that I'm here, I exist, and I don't know my obsession!"

"Umm, I'm just going to go." The Box ghost said rather awkwardly. Both Valerie and The Phantom jumped. They had forgotten that The Box Ghost was there. Surprisingly, it had remained quiet the whole time, which was very unlike it. "Farewell for now Phantom and Hunter! You may have thwarted me this time, but I will be back for revenge! Do you hear me- I will get my box themed revenge!". The ghost uttered, before zipping off to do whatever it was ghosts did when they are not terrorizing Amity Park.

Should I chase after him? Valerie pondered. She decided against it. Interogating Phantom is the priority here, it is obviously hiding something. Pretty much everything it has told me so far has been nonsensical. Having decided this, she turned around in order to continue interrogating Phantom- only to freeze.

Valerie face-palmed. How could she have been so stupid! She had let the Box Ghost distract her- The Box Ghost for crying out loud! While she was watching that menace The Phantom must have taken the opportunity to slip away. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She muttered aloud, softly banging her head against the wall. She had been this close to answers and she had let it just slip away! She slumped against the wall with a loud sigh.

Valerie knew that if she wanted to get even an hour of sleep, she needed to head back now. She knew that she had school and work and –arggg! She just couldn't feel motivated to get up! She had had The Phantom, right there! It was at her mercy! And she had just let this opportunity to rid Amity of the menace once and for all!

She knew that it must have been waiting for this. It pretended to be nervous and made up some stupid story so she lowered her guard, and she had taken it hook line and sinker. For all she knew it and the stupid Box Ghost had planned all of this beforehand. Though- based on The Box Ghost's IQ she doubted it.

Knowing that she couldn't afford to sulk any longer, she slowly got to her feet. With a sigh, she powered up her hover-board and started towards home.

One time skip later...

Valerie flew through the open window of her room, softly landing on the floor and closing the window. Banishing her Hunter suit, she collapsed onto the bed, relishing in the softness of the covers and the warmth of the sheets. She felt her eyes slip closed, heavy from exhaustion- only to be startled out of my daze by a shrill ringing.

"Argghhhh!" Valerie screamed, jolting upward and blindly swatting at the offending noise. She heard the thud of something hitting the ground. She bent over the bed to see what it was. Oh. Valerie thought. It was her alarm clock. It couldn't be five o'clock already, could it? I just got here! Valerie thought. But sure enough, when she bent down she could see through the cracked glass of the clock that it was indeed time to wake up. She had been out all night.

Valerie groaned. Stupid hunter reflexes. She grumbled to herself. This was the third clock she had broken this week- and with how tight finances were at the moment they did not need any extra expenses. Also, she knew her Dad would have heard the crash. That means that he knew that she had been up all night. He would also know that there is only reason that she would be up long enough to be that out of it- ghost hunting.

Valerie didn't want to see him this morning, to be forced to listen to another lecture on the "dangers of ghost hunting". Maybe I could sneak past him? Valerie wondered. She would just sneak out the window but she could hear her stomach protesting at the thought of skipping breakfast. Her Dad might have not even heard the crash, this could be one of the rare days where he wasn't doing overtime.

Valerie inched open the door and peered out, no sign of her Dad. She tiptoed down the hallway, and peered around the corner to where her Dad's room was. Yes! His door is still shut, so he is probably still sleeping! I can ju- She was cut out of her train of thought when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She spun around and found herself face to face with her Dad. "Hi Daddy" Valerie crooned, trying to act innocent. "Good Morning"."

Judging from the look on her father's face, he did not buy the act. He looked very disappointed. Ouch. Valerie did not want to be there. "Valerie, I-"

Valerie cut him off before he had the chance to speak. "Well, gotta get going! Lots of stuff to do you know! Bye Daddy, love you!" She exclaimed, as she grabbed a cereal bar and a cup of coffee and rushed out of the door, slamming it behind her.

Valerie let out a sigh of relief after she was sure that here Dad was not following her. She knew that her Father had good intentions, but he didn't understand how important Ghost Hunting was to her. She ran down the stairs -there was no time for the old broken down elevator, she swore it only traveled a floor a minute- and out onto the street.

Sipping the coffee, she started heading for her morning job. She knew that she had to get going before the coffee buzz wore off, otherwise she would not be able to muster the willpower to keep going. As she arrived at work, she muttered to herself. 'Thirteen more hours until I'm done. Thirteen more hours until I can go on patrol; then I can finally find answers."

She watched the clock tick by, counting the seconds. I counted the seconds as I had to deal with my idiotic coworkers. I counted the seconds as I listened to Paulina rant about how the postmen had damaged her new designer –whatever it was this time. I counted the seconds as I served the customers -most of whom were no older than I was, which could make things awkward. -

I envied them, with their simple lives. The had friends, good family relationships, and most of them didn't work one job; much less two. Watching them reminded me of back before ghosts, when my life was much simpler. Until the Phantom burst in to ruin things. Valerie thought bitterly.

As she watched a group of freshmen goofing around at a table near the window, she was reminded of what she fought for. She fought for them. She fought so that nobody will have to go through what she and her Dad had to. So that the horrible, literally heartless ghosts that roam the town will never be able to claim another victim; never be able to burst in and take everything from them. She knew that she would never forgive herself if she let someone else fall victim to Phantom.

"Umm- Valerie?" Valerie heard a somewhat familiar voice speak from behind her. She turned around and was face to face with the pimply redhead who helped her man the cash registers. He was probably about her age, maybe a little older. What was his name again? Something with an M. Was it, Manny? Marvin? Mark? Mathew? Maybe Mark, Mark sounded somewhat familiar

"Sorry to bother you, but we are ready to close. You were looking a little spacey and I didn't want you to get locked in." He said awkwardly.

Valerie blinked. "Thanks, I didn't get much sleep last night and I guess I must have spaced out a little. Just thinking and stuff."

"Ok, well you have a nice evening. See you tomorrow?" Mark asked, but Valerie was already heading out the door.

Time to get answers.


	4. The Worries

Hey guys! It's me again, back with another chapter. As I think I mentioned before, I have struck inspiration with this story and I am trying to type it all up while it is fresh in my head! So, I guess I will keep writing until I have a shot at the "most chapters posted in a day prize". Does that exist? Anyways, this will probably be the last chapter I post for today. With the weekend coming to an end and lots of tests and stuff updates may take more time. Anyways, thanks for staying with me for this long, enjoy!

Oh yeah, wait! I completely forgot to do the declaimer in the other chapters! Please don't sue me! I don't own Danny Phantom or any of the other characters. I just own the plot! This applies to all of the previous chapters as well!

Danny's POV

Danny let out a sigh of relief as he flew away from the post office. That was a close one. When Valerie had asked what made him special he had started freaking out. He had spouted some nonsense about how ordinary he was, but Valery had not looked convinced.

Then she had asked him about what his obsession was. As he was half expecting the question "Are you a halfa!" at the time, it had taken him a minute to process what she had just said. And like an idiot, he had replied "I don't have an obsession, or I don't know it!", or something like that. Was there anything he could have possibly said that would scream "I'm not a ghost!" more than that? All ghosts as far as he knew had obsessions, but he didn't think halfa's did.

Actually, maybe they did. Vlad did kind of have an obsession with getting revenge on his Dad, and –shudder- marrying his Mom. So did that mean that he had an obsession? Danny didn't know. Maybe those were not ghost obsessions as much as Vlad being his fruitloopy self. Or maybe they developed after you had been a halfa for a while. So in a way, he did tell the truth. He just didn't elaborate on why he was different.

He was still worried about how much he had given away. As Danny was flying he took his cell-phone out of his pocket. Yes; the suit did have pockets. Danny didn't know exactly why, but he guessed that if you wore hazmat as much as his parents then it would be useful to have pockets. Danny knew Tucker would know what to do.

"Hello, this is Tucker "Too fine" Foley. May I ask who I am speaking to at this lovely hour and if you are a girl?" Danny heard Tucker say in a slightly sleepy voice.

"Hey Tuck, this is Danny." Danny replied, unsure of how to respond to that last comment.

Suddenly Tucker seemed wide awake "Danny dude, do you have any idea what time it is! Is something wrong?"

"No, sorry for worrying you. I just ran into Valerie and she asked me what my obsession was, and I pretty much told her I didn't have one! I might as well have said, "I'm not really a ghost!" Danny explained in a worried tone.

"Wait, you approached Valerie? Didn't Sam and I tell you that it was better to avoid her?"

"I didn't approach her, she snuck up on me while I was fighting Boxy!" Danny protested vehemently. He did not want to take the blame for something that could not be helped.

"I'm not the one you need to be nervous about, Sam is! You know how she gets when she is worried!"

"Oh. Well, thanks for the heads up." Danny expressed his gratitude.

"No problem dude, this doesn't seem like too big of a deal. Valerie will probably just forget what you said or dismiss it as it being in your "ghostly nature" to lie-" Tucker paused, seemingly realizing something. "Wait, why didn't you just fly off and leave Valerie to defeat the Box Ghost? You didn't have to answer the question."

"Well, I'd like to see you try not to when she is holding an ecto-gun to your head!" Danny moaned, the incident still fresh in his mind.

"Ouch-" Tucker winced. "Well, I guess that is true. Why don't you go get some rest? We can tell Sam in the morning, I don't feel like dealing with her shouting before the sun is even up. Besides, if I get to sleep I might have time to finish my dream about models. Goodnight Danny."

"Goodnight Tu-" Danny started to say before realizing that Tucker had already hung up. Danny phased through the wall to his room and slipped under the covers. Somehow he just knew that tomorrow was going to be an eventful day.

Done! I know that was quite a bit shorter than the last one but it is a school night and I have procrastinated on other stuff long enough. I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if it was a bit filler-y, I wanted to introduce Danny's POV and with this being my first story I wasn't sure how to do it, but I think it worked. I plan on making something happen that makes Valerie get closer to figure out the truth. So yeah, this may or may not end up as a revelation fic. Maybe, maybe not. I am planning on making something happen to Danny, probably- You didn't really think I'd tell you! And ruin my master plan! No way! You will just have to wait until I post again; hopefully tomorrow. I will try to get it out tomorrow if I have time between homework and just exhaustion from the big test we are having. I might work on it at lunchtime.

Anyways, please review and favorite! A million dollars to anyone who does! Lol not really but seriously please do it anyway, I literally become ecstatic every time I read one! :)

This is Shadow signing off!


	5. The Confusion

Hi, I'm back! Here is the next chapter, and guess what? I didn't forget the disclaimer this time! I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters, or Amity Park. I am a nobody.

Ok, now that that is done, here we go!

Chapter 5

 **Beep! Beep! Beep!**

Danny jumped at the sudden noise, ghost reflexes kicking in. Leaping into the air, he blindly lashed out at the noise with a powerful kick. Hearing a smash and feeling the impact, Danny opened his eyes a crack more to see- his alarm clock lying smashed on the floor.

Danny groaned and sat down on the bed. You could only be a ghost hunter for so long before your reflexes sharpened, which was doubly true for Danny because he also had to avoid the other hunter's due to his status as a half-ghost. This was the 3rd alarm clock this week.

With a sigh, he picked up the alarm clock, depositing it into the trash can. Another alarm clock gone. He sighed in a self-pitying manner. Nobody but him had to deal with this. And he had rather liked that clock to, it had all of the constellations on it. They were actually little LEDs which lit up, making the clock resemble the night sky. It had been the last one in stock, and had cost two weeks of his allowance.

Danny wandered down the stairs, searching through the pantry for something sealed. If he could find something sealed than it was probably safe from ecto-contamination. He had learned that the hard way when he had decided to risk the leftover fudge about a year ago. That had not ended well. (Possible oneshot anyone?) Suddenly he heard a voice boom out from behind him.

" **Danny Boy! I heard a smash! Is it a ghost? Where did it go!"** Said an extremely overenthusiastic Jack Fenton, sporting a large ecto-gun.

"Now Jack, let's not over-react. I'm sure it was nothing. Right Danny?" Said Maddie, attempting to calm her husband down.

"Yeah, I just knocked over my alarm clock. No ghost involved, just clumsy old me." Danny reassured his parents.

"But I wanted to catch a ghost!" Jack whined. "Now what will I rip apart molecule by molecule?!"

Danny winced at this. He waited a moment to let his Mom calm him down before heading out the door. He ducked around out of sight and after carefully scanning his surroundings, he changed to ghost form and flew away.

Danny angled himself to where he knew where the boy's restroom was. There was a flash of light as Danny Fenton emerged from the stall. As he headed toward his locker, he was met by Sam and Tucker. And Sam was not looking happy.

"Daniel James Fenton, why didn't you tell me you ran into Valerie last night!?"

Danny immediately shot a scathing look a Tucker who raised his hands in the air in surrender. "I'm sorry dude! She forced it out of me!"

Danny snorted. Somehow he doubted that it had been that hard to make Tucker talk.

"Geesh Sam, calm down! I couldn't help it! She snuck up on me while I was dealing with Boxy!"

Sam shot Danny a look that clearly showed that she was skeptical. In response to this, Danny raised his hands in surrender similar to how Tucker had earlier.

"Ok ok, I-"

 **Boom!**

They all jumped as they saw a green ghost ray shoot out of Danny's hands into the ceiling. Plaster floated down, stinging their eyes and making them sneeze. After a few very very long moments of silence, Tucker finally spoke.

"Ummmm. **What just happened!** " Tucker half yelled half whispered, his voice tinged with shock.

" **Gulliver's Travels! Mr Fenton, what happened here!"** They heard Mr. Lancer exclaim in shock from behind them.

"Ummmmmm" The trio hummed- still in shock- while Danny fished for an excuse.

"I- uh- I tripped?" Came Danny's voice, sounding much more like a question than a reply.

"You tripped" Mr. Lancer echoed in disbelief. "You just tripped."

"Ummmm; maybe?" Danny replied awkwardly, rubbing his neck.

Mr. Lancer wandered away, seemingly in shock. They could hear him muttering to himself repeatedly. "He tripped. Into the ceiling. He tripped. Into the ceiling."

30 seconds of awkward silence later

"Danny, how did you do that?" Sam voiced what they had all been thinking, her face a mask of puzzlement. "You are not in your ghost form are you? You look normal."

"I don't know? I didn't even know I could do that!" Danny replied excitedly. "Maybe it's a new ghost power!

"Well dude, if it is then you need to learn to control it! People in this town –no offense intended- aren't the brightest, but they will notice something is up if **Danny Fenton** starts blowing holes in things." Tucker warned. "I mean seriously dude, you tripped?! That's really all you could think of? That has to be the worse excuse ever!"

"Well, I had to say something! It worked didn't it!"

"Guys, we are getting off topic. Danny didn't mean to do that, what if it turns out like when he first got his powers!" Sam worried.

"You're right, that would be bad. I'm not worried about the rest of the town figuring out, mainly Valerie. She is pretty smart, and I wouldn't be surprised if she put two and two together." Danny responded with a worried frown.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Valerie turned up at class looking pretty tired. It seemed like her mind was anywhere but in the classroom. She had perked up a little when she saw the ghost blast –they knew that as a ghost hunter she probably recognized it as what it was- but she seemed to dismiss it. It didn't seem like she saw anything too suspicious about it, with ghosts attacking the school every day there was bound to be some property damage.

Lessons that day were pretty easy, as Mr. Lancer still seemed a little out of it. The trio caught him staring at Danny like he was one of those Sudoku puzzles he kept behind his desk; a mystery. Only one ghost attacked, it was Technis again, but Danny –who was just done with life for the day- had caught him in the thermos mid monologue. It had taken less than a minute.

Honestly, it was probably a good thing that the day was so easy. With the new ghost power and Valerie, their minds were much too occupied to deal with much else. After all, it wasn't everyday that new ghost powers pop up; and in Danny's human form no less. This day was probably going to be the most eventful and crazy day they had for months.

Oh Murphy, why do you hate them so? As it happened, they were wrong. Dead wrong.

Hi guys, so that was the next chapter! Hope you like it! I made Danny's middle name James because for some reason it just sounds right. When I looked it up I didn't see a official middle name, but if I am wrong please feel free to correct me! Anyways, see you next time!

-Shadow


	6. Chapter 6

Hi guys! I'm back! Well, not a lot to say this time but that I hope you like the story so far! So, let's get started! Well, after the disclaimer of course; which I am happy to say I remembered again!

So, I still don't own Danny Phantom or any of that stuff. I wish I did because that would be awesome and I would totally scrap Phantom Planet and keep the series going. Or maybe keep Phantom planet but make them remember for like a day before forgetting for some reason. Anyways, that's beside the point. I wish I did, but I don't own Danny Phantom.

"Danny wake up"

"Go away Jazz," Danny mumbled groggily. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Danny, come on. It's time to wake up." Jazz cajoled as she opened up the curtains. Danny just rolled over; putting the pillow over his head in an attempt to spare himself from the light that was streaming in from the newly opened curtains.

"Ok Danny, I didn't want to do this but remember, **you** gave me permission to do this if you didn't wake up!" Jazz warned.

"Do what?" Danny muttered sleepily, not really paying attention. Not paying attention that is, before Jazz dumped a cup of ice water on his head!

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Danny wailed, jumping to his feet. Eyes wide open, he surveyed the room. Jazz was standing there with a smug look on her face, and he was dripping wet. Or at least, he should have been. Why wasn't he wet?

Jazz didn't seem to notice his confusion. "Come on Danny, you have to get ready so that you might not be late for school just this once! So please get off the bed." She said in exasperation.

Danny looked down, realizing that he was standing on his bed. When he looked up again, he hit his head on the ceiling.

Jazz winced. Ouch. "Ok, well I will leave you to get ready! Bye, little brother!"

Rubbing his head, Danny sat down. Ouch, thank goodness for rapid healing. Still, that was not pleasant.

Danny got up, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He tugged on his everyday outfit of blue pants, a red and white t-shirt, and red and white sneakers. The same outfit he had worn for as long as he could remember. To be honest with all of the time he used up, what with "living" two lives and all, he didn't really have time for new clothes. He just had his parents buy the same thing every time. It was much more convenient. _Besides, it's not like I am popular enough to have to worry about keeping up with the latest fashion trends._

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Danny grabbed his phone from where it sat on the nightstand. He hadn't wanted to set an alarm on it to wake up as he really didn't need to smash it. He supposed his parents would be happy to make him an ecto-powered one, but with his luck, it would double as a specter deflector or something.

"Hello? Danny speaking." Danny answered, still rubbing his head.

"Hey Danny, it's Sam. I think I know what is going on with your powers." Sam's voice could be heard from the other end of the line. She sounds like she had a good night of sleep. Danny thought enviously.

Flashback

Danny could swear that he had been asleep no longer than ten minutes before his ghost sense woke him up. He rubbed his eyes as he stretched, trying to wake himself up. What is it this time?

He flew through the wall and out onto the street, zooming past the landmarks that he had come to know well. He scanned the city for any sign of disturbance when his eyes landed on the school.

Bang! Crash! Kabam!

Danny could hear chaos coming from inside the school. As he flew through the halls he used his advanced hearing to listen for a sound that might hint at the source of the noise. He stopped as he passed one of the classrooms.

" **But I am The Box Ghost! I cannot be silenced! The whole world must know of my power and cower under my box themed vengeance!"**

Danny peered into the room to see a very annoyed looking Ember facing The Box Ghost. Boxes were flying around the room, gravitating around the smaller ghost. Danny had to hold back a chuckle when he saw the expression on Ember's face. It reminded him of how he had looked when he had first met Boxy. (Here is the picture I am basing Ember's expression on. vi/qVT0I_ )

" **Look, I told you. We don't have time for this! We need to be quiet, or else we might attract the Dipstick's attention, which we can't do until we are ready!"**

"Too late!" Danny said, revealing himself to the duo. The Box ghost looked surprised, his mouth formed into the shape of an O. Ember just looked done. Danny almost pitied her, The Box Ghost was enough to give anyone a headache.

" **Phantom! I knew you were there the whole time! I just- didn't care because you are no threat to me! For I am The Box Ghost! And as soon as I find where this school keeps my squarish weapons of ULTIMATE doom, you shall wish you had never heard the name The Box Ghost! In fact, I-"** The box ghost was cut off mid-rant by Danny.

"Umm Boxy? That's great and all but I really don't think you are looking in the right place. Ever since Tucker's "Technology Empowers" campaign, we don't really have the boxes of school supplies laying around anymore. He had the school board on his side in no time, seriously the Dude has amazing speaking skills! He should become Mayor or something when he grows up, he would make a better one than Vlad for sure." Danny explained, a tinge of bitterness in his voice at the mention of his rival, who had been surprisingly quiet lately. Danny was sure he was planning something.

" **No matter!"** The box ghost exclaimed, looking slightly offput but still determined! **"For I the box ghost will use my incredible logic and undisputable power to locate the other boxes in the school! For I am The Box Ghost! FEAR ME!"**

"Seriously dude, why do you always come here. There really aren't even that many boxes here. Ever since the health committee got on the school's case about having unrefrigerated boxes of meat in the basement the food those boxes are gone. ( _I mean, seriously, having unrefrigerated meat like that lying around has to be unsanitary. Thank goodness somebody noticed, even if Sam did have to start another protest to make it happen._ Danny thought to himself.) And there are not really many other boxes here. Why don't you go bother somebody in the ghost zone? I heard Technus got a new shipment of parts, and they probably came in boxes. Go bother him." Danny reasoned, not really expecting the box ghost to listen. But to his surprise, the Box Ghost did.

" **Very well Phantom! I, The Box Ghost, will go claim the treasure trove of boxes at the technology ghost's lair! But beware, next time we meet I will not let you go so easily!"** The Box Ghost zipped through the wall, presumably to annoy Technus. Danny hoped that they kept each other busy for a while, he had been telling the truth about Technus receiving a shipment of parts. That meant that Technus was upgrading himself again, which meant nothing but trouble for Danny.

Suddenly Danny heard a cough behind him. He whipped around, having forgotten all about Ember. He bent himself into a battle position, but Ember did not look ready to attack; she just looked bored.

"Ummm- aren't you going to attack?" Danny questioned, not daring to take his eyes off of Ember.

"Nah- don't feel like it." Came Embers reply. _What in the world?_ Danny thought, confusion showing clearly in his eyes.

"Then why did you come here?" Danny raised his doubts, voice touched with skepticism.

"Well, Skulker and Technis decided to team up. They said that if they teamed up to become "Skulktech" or something then they could get their revenge on you. I, of course, thought it was a stupid plan. Then Skulker said "Well it's not something you could do, team up with with a ghost as annoying as him and benefit from it" or something. So of course, I decided to prove him wrong. The Box Ghost is an idiot." She then ended suddenly with great finality. When it came to the Box Ghost, not much more needed to be said. Though Danny thought he had caught most of it, he wasn't completely sure as she had not really paused for breath; which now that Danny thought about it made sense seeing as she was a ghost and all.

Danny was about to reply when he heard a large crash from the distance. Danny looked around, half expecting the Box Ghost to be back already but Ember just sighed.

"There they are now. I won't tell him where you are if you don't tell him about The Box Ghost team up plan." Ember bargained.

"Deal," Danny said already halfway through the wall. He remembered Skulktech from his encounter with –Danny shuddered- Him. This was going to be a long night.

Flashback Ends

"Danny, are you still there?" Sam wondered aloud.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry, I just kinda spaced out, can you repeat yourself?"

"I think I may have an idea about what is going on," Sam repeated.

"Wow, really? What?" Danny asked, curious to hear the answer.

Well then, there's a cliffhanger for you. I was going to add more action to this chapter but then I realized that it was getting WAY too long and decided to leave you with this cliffhanger. *Dodges Tomatoes.

I know I know, sorry. But seriously, something to look forward to right? Even if this chapter was a bit fillery it was at least a little funny, right? Right?

I hope you enjoyed that chapter, and thanks for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows I've been getting! I'm glad that you guys find this story interesting! Feel free to comment if you notice something that does not make sense like a timeline error or someone who seems out of character, or if the plot is becoming too obvious. I love constructive criticism, it helps me become a better writer. But please, I also love when I receive comments with just thoughts, ideas for the story, even comments that just say, "that's cool" or "this is nice"!

If anybody reviews with something that I think I can fit into the general plot, or that is good enough that I can rework the plot around it, I would be glad to add it to the story. I think I may have there be a little more time between my updates from now on so people have time to see it and review with suggestions. One thing I like about this website is how it allows writers to help and inspire each other. I know that pretty much every time I get a review it refreshes my motivation, so that is nice.

Just one more thing, I am having trouble thinking up a title for this chapter. I almost literally named it "The Filler" but then I realized that that was not funny so much as- ummm- weird. That's how stumped on names I am. So, for now, I guess I will just call it chapter 6. If anyone has any ideas on a name I would be glad to hear them, because I am seriously stumped.

Ok, that's all for now. Bye!

-Shadow


	7. The Fury

Hey guys! I'm back for chapter 7! Also, I changed my name, so yay for that! I go by _**Pheonix-Inferno**_ now. Cool name right? Yeah, I think so. Anyways, I think I've kept you waiting long enough! Yeah, I know it was not very long, and I said I wanted to give people time to review, but I have become a writing addict! So, sorry; though I don't know why I'm apologizing I'm basically updating this early! To make up for how I was going to wait a bit longer before updates, I wrote a story called Remember, though now I guess it is just a gift and not an apology. Or maybe if I get some more will power it can be one. I got home and before I even knew what I was doing I was typing up another chapter. I was going to wait to publish it to as I said before give people time to review but it was like torture. I lasted less than ten minutes before I **NEEDED** to post it. If you are interested you can go see it. It is as you maybe guessed from the name a story centered around Ember. It is a one-shot, and it is a rather sad one. Anyways, go check it out if you like! Now, on to the story :)!

"I think I may have an idea about what is going on," Sam repeated.

"Wow, really? What?" Danny asked, curious to hear the answer.

"Remember when you first got your powers?" Sam questioned.

"I think I know what you're thinking," Danny said. He saw where this was going. When he had first gotten his powers, it had been a disaster. He had been unable to control his intangibility, which had caused a lot of trouble when he was trying to keep his secret- well- a secret.

"You're saying that this is like then. But I have had my ghost powers for a while now, it's not like they are new anymore. Besides, I only had trouble with my intangibility then. Now I am not only having trouble with my intangibility, but also my ghost rays. Why would my powers suddenly act up without a good reason? Danny wondered. He saw where Sam was going but he didn't see any similarities between right after the accident and now besides his powers malfunctioning.

"Wait, your intangibility has been malfunctioning too?" Danny heard Sam's voice come out slightly static-y through his phone. Danny sighed, knowing that having his phone on him meant that when he got slammed into walls, so did it. That could not be good for it. Maybe he could convince Sam to get him a new one or Tucker to give him one of the six phones that he knew were stashed somewhere in his room.

"Danny?" Sam said with worry. "Are you ok?"

Danny blinked, then remembered where he was. He had stopped packing his backpack and was just staring into space. Shaking his head to clear out the last of the mental fog, he replied.

"Sorry Sam, just spaced out a little. I really need to get more sleep." Danny replied, wincing at the sight of last night's unfinished homework. Mr. Lancer was not going to be happy.

"What were you saying about your intangibility?"

"I think it was acting up this morning. Jazz dumped ice water over my head and I don't remember going intangible, but somehow, I stayed dry. I think my intangibility must have acted up, but at least I didn't end up under my bed aagin!"

"Wait Jazz dumped ice water on you?" Sam replied in confusion. Just as Danny was about to reply she cut him off. "Never mind, it's not important. What's important is why your powers are acting up. I can't think of why this would be happening- unless…" Sam trailed off mid-though. She obviously had had an idea.

"Unless…." Danny prompted.

"Who do we know who has something against you, and has access to the technology that can make your powers malfunction, and has maybe even invented something that has affected your powers before?" Sam replied, causing Danny's eyes to harden.

"Plasmius!" Danny's eyes flashed a bright green. "I knew he has been too quiet lately! What did he do to my powers!"

Danny was pretty much ready to fly to Wisconsin that very moment and give that fruit-loop a piece of his mind about messing with other people's powers! He felt his fists tighten as he transformed into Phantom, and started floating. He was about to speed off when Sam's voice rang out from the phone distracting him.

"Wait, no! We still don't know what he did! We should meet up with Tucker at school and explain what happened, so we can figure out how to combat it. Besides, the last thing you need is to miss even more school. I swear he is a step away from tying you down and forcing you to study! (I might write a fanfic based on this idea; what if Mr. Lancer is so tired of Danny failing that charges the Fentons with making sure he does nothing but study, which being the Fentons they take way too seriously. And with Phantom mysteriously absent, what will happen to the town. I don't know, might be interesting?)" Sam frantically explained, trying to convince Danny not to do anything rash.

Danny's shoulders slump, he knows Sam is right. Changing back into Fenton he sits back down on the bed.

"You are right Sam, I need to be rational. We can talk about this at school." Danny said, hanging up his cell phone. Danny trotted to the bathroom, grabbed his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth with such ferocity it seemed that he was trying to break the brush. He knew that if he hurried then he might now be late for school for once. Danny spit and then looked up into the mirror that hung above his bathroom counter. He wondered if-

Then he stopped dead in shock. His hair, it was, it was.

White! His hair was white! Danny changed walked around to look at his hair from a different angle, hoping it was a trick of the light. His hair stayed the same snow white color it had been. _What in the world_! Danny thought frantically. He knew for a fact that he wasn't in his ghost form, so why-"

 **Plasmius!** Danny thought with furry. If the effects of whatever he had done to him were this rapid and extreme, who knew what would come next. Danny knew he could not waste any more time there. Besides, it was not like he could go to school looking like this. He looked just like Phantom, just minus the green eyes and ghostly glow. Though the people of Amity Park were not the smartest, it would not take much for someone to put two and two together, and then his secret would be out.

 _Sorry, Sam_. Danny thought as he flew north towards Wisconsin. _If you knew what just happened I'm sure you would want me to do this, but there is no time to call you now._

And with that thought, Danny increased his speed. He hoped Vlad was ready because Danny Phantom was coming for him.

Ok, that's all for now! Did anybody catch my pun? "Stopped dead?" Ha, right? *Pauses, just awkward silence until a tomato flies at her

Ok, ok, I get it! Nobody cares!

Although this chapter was only like 1,400 words, I felt like it was pretty interesting and pretty good overall. I mean, quality over quantity, right! I have a long weekend in the upcoming days, so either I will be busy with another big project or you will get a lot more updates! Anyways, if you are bored feel free to look at my other story Remember! Oh yeah, and please, please, please favorite and review! I cannot say it enough times! I know you will, because you guys are amazing!

-Phoenix Inferno, formerly Shadow


	8. The Fruit Loop

Hey guys! I'm back! I realized that I have not been acknowledging the reviews, so here we go!

Cutiepie120048: I'm glad that you like the idea! I may do it sometime in the future. Thanks for the confirmation that James sounds right, it sounded right to me too. Thanks for your support! You are the only person who has reviewed twice, and I love getting your input!

Missy Mack 1: I could imagine doing this one-shot, but I am really not sure where to even begin! If you have any ideas feel free to PM me!

Iloveanimals: :)

Mia: Thank you!

Guest: I am glad that you think that I succeeded in portraying Valerie's viewpoint. I wanted to make sure people could understand how she thought so he actions would make more sense/ be more meaningful.

Ikspires: I plan to have a discovery chapter coming up! It will be tricky portraying the emotion correctly as I am a bit unexperienced, but I think I can do it!

Invader Johnny: Thanks for your reviews! I noticed that you also reviewed my other story "Remember" so I thought I would thank you here. I am glad that you thought it was believable, and you are right it was a tad dark. You are right, I think that Valerie's refusal to think of ghosts as people or as having feelings is part of what blinds her. Thanks for the review by the way, it was the first one I had ever gotten! :)

Ok, time to start now!

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 **Vlad's POV**

Vlad "Plasmius" Masters was down in his lab, as he usually was at this time of day. At the moment he was working on a very special project. It was a serum that would cause whoever either ingested it or was injected with it to obey him. The original plan had been to inject it into Daniel, but then Vlad had realized that he wanted the boy to come to him of his own will, and it would just not be the same.

 _Still, this would still be useful for others. I have spent so much money developing this, it would be a shame to not finish it._ Vlad thought as he pulled out a dropper and carefully measured out a practically microscopic portion of a glowing pink mixture from a beaker.

"Careful, careful," Vlad muttered to himself. He knew that this was the hardest part of the process. He had to get the amount exactly right, and add it at the perfect pace. He slowly dropped the liquid into another beaker which was simmering over a Bunsen burner, this one filled with a green liquid. Holding his breath, he stepped back and observed the beaker. Slowely but surely it turned an electric blue!

"Yes, I have done it!" Vlad exclaimed, picking up the beaker and staring at it in delight. "I have created t-"

" **Vlad!"** a voice sounded behind him. The sudden noise made Vlad lose his grip on the precious beaker. It crashed to the floor, the liquid splattering all over the cabinets and Vlad's clothes. Vlad sighed. _Sixteen hours in the lab and thousands of dollars wasted._ He thought in anger.

Composing himself and trying to look like he had not been upset by the loss of the precious liquid and the state of his extremely expensive suit, Vlad turned to face Daniel.

"Daniel, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

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 **Danny's POV**

Despite having skipped breakfast and being weighed down by sleep deprivation, Danny felt extremely energized. The wind whipping past his face helped wake him up. Danny didn't know how long he had been flying, but he knew that it could not be much longer until he reached Vlad's mansion. Sure enough, Danny soon spotted Vlad's mansion in the distance. Picking up his speed Danny flew right through the wall and past the secret fireplace entrance, into Vlad's lab.

He could see Vlad looking happy about something. _Probably about whatever plot he has cooked up this time._ Danny fumed. Vlad had not yet noticed his presence. He was busy gloating about whatever he had just done with that beaker.

" **Vlad!"** Danny shouted. He saw the fruit-loop drop whatever beaker he had been holding. Vlad turned around, facing Danny with a neutral expression on his face.

"Daniel, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Danny heard Vlad ask.

"As if you don't already know. What di-" Danny then froze when he saw that the contents of the beaker had splattered all over Vlad's expensive looking suit. He burst out laughing. Vlad did not look amused.

"Did you just come to laugh at me or did you have something you needed Daniel?" Vlad fumed.

"You know that is a good look for you Vlad!" Danny said as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes, before remembering why he had come. Suddenly his face looked solemn. Vlad looked perplexed, which was an odd look on his usually composed face.

"Now down to business. What did you do this time fruitloop!" Danny questioned, his voice filled with anger.

"Daniel, I have no idea what you are referring to." Vlad said, maintaining his claim to innocence.

Danny was not convinced. "You know exactly what I am referring to cheese-head! You turned my hair white, and now my powers are acting up in human form! You are trying to make my secret identity be revealed!" Danny ranted, his voice leaking exasperation. He didn't know why Vlad was claiming innocence, but Danny had been manipulated by Vlad enough. It wasn't happening again.

"Daniel, I have no reason to put your identity at risk." Vlad reasoned while Danny looked on skeptically. "If your identity is exposed then you would have no qualms against revealing mine, which as we both know would be detrimental to my plans." Danny's look of skepticism faded into one of realization, and then into one of confusion."

"If you didn't do this, then who did?" Danny voiced his thoughts aloud. Vlad 's expression grew quiet and thoughtful.

"Explain to me what happened Daniel." Vlad commanded.

"And why would you want to help me?" Danny asked with a doubtful voice.

"Because as I said before, I don't want your identity revealed. It would be like revealing my secret. Now are you going to explain or not Daniel?" Vlad's neutral voice let a tinge of exasperation seep through.

Danny explained what had been happening. Vlad sat there with a thoughtful yet neutral expression on his face. Every so often he nodded or asked for confirmation on a detail. When Danny had finished his story, they sat there in silence. Eventually the elder halfa spoke.

"I think I know what is happening to your powers." Vlad stated with a smug look on his face from evidentially figuring it out.

"Really, what?" Danny asked, eager but weary at the same time. Despite Vlad's irrefutable logic, he still did not trust the fruit-loop.

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What will Vlad say? You will just have to tune in next time to find out! And yes, I do know this resembles the ending a few chapters ago, but it is a completely different thing. Does anyone else feel a bit sorry for Vlad? I mean he is a fruit loop but still. Anyways, see you next time!

Phoenix Inferno


	9. The Answer

Hi guys! Here I am with- checks- CHAPTER 9! Already! Wow, time flies I guess!

 **Cutiepie 120048: I like your theory! This would definitely be a possibility! About your idea that Vlad is pretending or lying, that does seem like something he would do! Anyways, thanks for supporting my writing! :)**

 **Guest: Umm what? I'm sorry but I don't understand what you are saying. I did spell Valerie with an e? Unless I used a y once accidentally. If I did then I am sorry and I appreciate the concern but pointing it out like that does seem a bit like a grammar Nazi move**

Ok guys, so I have a few questions to ask:

Are the chapters becoming too short?

Is the plot becoming too predictable?

Are the details consistent?

Anyways, thanks for reading! Before anyone asks, I have not forgotten about Valerie. She is still there and still a big part of the story! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Danny Phantom. That honor belongs to Butch Hartman. Now, on with the story!

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 **Previously**

" _Explain to me what happened Daniel." Vlad commanded._

" _And why would you want to help me?" Danny asked with a doubtful voice._

" _Because as I said before, I don't want your identity revealed. It would be like revealing my secret. Now are you going to explain or not Daniel?" Vlad's neutral voice let a tinge of exasperation seep through._

 _Danny explained what had been happening. Vlad sat there with a thoughtful yet neutral expression on his face. Every so often he nodded or asked for confirmation on a detail. When Danny had finished his story, they sat there in silence. Eventually the elder halfa spoke._

" _I think I know what is happening to your powers." Vlad stated with a smug look on his face from evidentially figuring it out._

" _Really, what?" Danny asked, eager but weary at the same time._

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Danny would have been fine just sitting on the floor or standing but Vlad insisted that "That is not the way to treat a guest. Any besides I do not fancy sitting on the floor at the moment." Vlad had said this last part with a pointed glance at Danny. Now that Danny looked around he saw the point. Whatever chemicals were in the vial that Vlad had shattered were now splattered all over the floor and the walls. Danny sighed. _Great, now I feel guilty._

A minute later Vlad returned balancing two chairs and a tray of tea and cookies. He had changed into an almost identical suit which was not splattered with chemicals. Setting the chairs down facing each other, Vlad settled down in one chair and started sipping his tea.

"Tea, Daniel?" Vlad asked, holding up one of the teacups he had brought.

Danny refused the tea, but he did take the cookies. Now that he had calmed down he realized that he had skipped breakfast, and it was probably nearing lunch-time.

"Very well. So Daniel, what do you know about ghosts?" Vlad asked, with a smug look on his face that many would call the "I know something you don't" face.

"Well," Danny replied. He did know a thing or two about ghosts. You can't live with a family of ghost hunters and not know some things about ghosts. "I know that they tend to have an erratic personality, because the feelings they were feeling when they-" Danny shuddered. Despite seeing ghosts so often he preferred not to think of them as dead. It made him sad which was not a distraction he needed while saving the town.

Vlad however was not so sympathetic. "Yes, when they died Daniel. Now go on."

"Ghosts have erratic personalities because the feelings they were feeling when they died are amplified and the other feelings shrink down to almost nothing. This creates their obsession, which is what keeps the ectoplasm together and makes them exist." Danny stated. He had no idea where Vlad was going with this.

"Yes, my dear boy; that is correct!" Vlad exclaimed. "There may be some hope for you after all if you would just denounce- "

Danny shot Vlad a piercing glare, his eyes glowing toxic green. Vlad was not bothered by this.

"Ooo scary eyes," He teased. "What you did not mention is that the obsession effects how they perceive themselves. And how ghost perceives himself effects how he looks physically. Do you see where I am going with this?"

Danny nodded in realization. "So, you are saying that because of how I perceive myself, my appearance is changing!"

"Exactly!" Vlad exclaimed. "Though halfas are not full ghosts, obsessions have a tie on us. They are much more flexible, able to change or fade while a ghost's obsession stays rigid and unrelenting. How did you change back when you first got you powers?"

"I just imagined myself like I normally was! I hate to say it fruit-loop, but you are probably right." Danny admitted. "And to go ghost I just let the urge to protect roll over me, and thought about how I looked in ghost form! But why would my appearance be changing now?"

"I would guess that you find Phantom to be a bigger part of how you view yourself than your human form. I is transferring many of your ghostly attributes to your human form, including your appearance and your powers. It is simple to combat this, just think of yourself as Fenton when you are human, not Phantom." Vlad explained, causing Danny to face-palm. _Of course!_

Danny focused, thinking as he did when he wanted to turn back human. Slowly, his white hair faded back into the normal black hair. Danny smiled in relief.

"Just remember Daniel. Keep a grip on your human side while you are human. If you start thinking too much like Phantom then your appearance could slip. Though I've never had a problem with this myself as my accident infused me with less ectoplasm as it was smaller, I can imagine what could go wrong."

Danny was about to fly off but Vlad continued.

"You know Daniel," Vlad suggested. "I could teach you how to use these powers. I could teach you how to use this power. With enough training you could practically become a shapeshifter. I cou-"

"Not interested." Danny interrupted, before changing into ghost form and flying through the wall. But then he popped his head back through the wall.

"Oh, and sorry about your lab." Danny apologized, scanning the room.

"Not a problem Daniel." Vlad replied, mood soured by the very mention of the incident. And then Danny was gone, flying back toward Illinois.

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 **Time Skip**

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Danny picked up the pace as he checked the time on his phone. If he hurried he might be able to catch the end of the school day. Then he saw the notifications on his phone. 27 texts and 13 missed calls.

 _Sam._ He thought with a wince. He had told Sam that he would wait until after school to visit Vlad, but he had rushed off anyways. She was going to be furious.

An hour later Danny was landing on the school grounds. He turned back to human form, making especially sure to focus on his appearance. After a quick run to the bathroom to check that his appearance was normal in the mirror, he ran toward last period. According to his phone there were a few minutes left, he might be able to slip into last period un-noticed.

Suddenly the school bell rang. _Well, so much for that idea._ Danny thought as he headed toward his locker. Sure enough Sam and tucker were standing there. Sam was yelling at Tucker about something and they both had very worried expressions on their faces.

"Umm, guys?" Danny said quietly. They both spun around to face him.

"Danny!" they both yelled at once. Sam engulfed him in a hug.

"You worried us so much! How could you just run off like that!" Sam yelled in his ear.

"I'm sorry Sam, but could you please get off of me?" Danny pleaded. Sam immediately stepped back, realizing that she was practically squeezing the air out of him.

"Oh sorry Danny." Sam apologized.

"Lovebirds!" Tucker said in a sing song voice.

"We are not lovebirds!" Both Sam and Danny replied at the same time, blushing.

Danny heard Tucker mutter something about "clueless". He was distracted however by Sam who had started asking rapid-fire questions.

"Where were you? Did you go see Vlad? Did something happen? Did you see Valerie? Did you figure out what he did?"

"Let's go to my house, I'll explain it all there."

The trio went to Danny's house, Danny grabbing a bag of chips as soon as they walked in the door. He was still hungry from skipping meals but he didn't want to risk a sandwich. The trio went up to Danny's room and closed the door, then the others looked at Danny expectantly.

Danny explained what Vlad had said to him. "So according to Vlad, it is your mindset that is changing your appearance and making your powers pop up when you are not in ghost form?" Tucker asked.

"Evidentially so." Answered Danny, then addressed Sam. "Why did you think Valerie was involved?"

"Well," Sam explained. "When neither you or Valerie turned up to school, we were worried. I knew that you had probably gone to confront Vlad and we were worried that given Vlad's association with Valerie that she was involved somehow."

"Nope, I didn't see Valerie at all today actually. Maybe she is sick?" Danny wondered.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this whole Valerie thing." Sam said.

"Me too Sam, me too."

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There we go! All done with that chapter! Originally, I was going with a different explanation, but the story had a mind of its own. Personally, I like this explanation better :). The next chapter will be in Valerie's POV.

And I know I say this every time, but please favorite and review! :)


	10. The Huntress

Hey guys! Here is Chapter 10! I had a long car ride today which gave me lots of time to write, so I am publishing multiple chapters today! Isn't that great?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Danny Phantom. I know it's hard to believe, but I really don't :(

Anyways, on with the story! And as I promised, we are on to Valerie's POV!

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 **Valerie's POV**

Valerie was furious and very, very frustrated as she patrolled the city with the sunset in the background. After The Phantom had escaped she had doubled her efforts. She had decided to skip school today and spent the whole day patrolling. She knew that she would be ready this time when she ran into The Phantom. Once it was caught she could spend the time she usually spent fighting it on studying. Of course, true to Valerie's luck, she hadn't seen the Phantom once.

Though the Phantom hadn't shown up, Valerie was kept busy. Usually The Phantom would take care of many of the ghosts, and Valerie would just finish off the rest. Well not today. Ghosts arrived in swarms. In just the first half of the day she had fought the Skulker, a young ghost dressed as a wizard with a skeletal cat, a biker ghost with a living shadow, The Box Ghost, and the tech ghost.

Well, at least it wasn't too much trouble to deal with the last two. They were so busy fighting that they hardly noticed when Valerie had snuck up on them. Evidentially The Box Ghost had done something to upset the other ghost. _Even ghosts find The Box Ghost annoying. But who wouldn't?_ Valerie thought as she sucked it into the G.C.D.

She had known as she savored the sweet silence that it would have escaped within an hour. Still, she was glad to know that she would be Box Ghost free for a while. She sat down and ate the sandwich she had brought on the roof of her apartment building. _Surely the Phantom will turn up this afternoon?_ Valerie had thought. She was wrong. The Phantom had not turned up that afternoon. Something else however had. She swore that she had caught The Box Ghost at least ten times so far.

She heard a crash behind her. With a sigh she turned around, already knowing what she was going to see. Sure enough there was The Box Ghost.

"Get back here you stupid ghost!" Valerie screamed in exasperation.

"No, for I –The Box Ghost- shall release my condensed cardboard fury on you, the second wielder of the second cylinder doom device! **BEWARE!** " it said, racing through the streets.

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 **Time Skip**

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Valerie went to school the next day. She would have skipped again if it wasn't for the fear of the school telling her father. She was already pretty sure that he knew and wanted her to confess based on the glares that he was sending her. Valerie had pretended not to notice the glares and hurried out the door to work.

Work was boring as usual. She finished up her shift and hurried to school. She got to school and was starting to unpack her bag when she noticed Danny sending her glances. Valerie bit her lip. Despite what she pretended she still had a crush on him. She suspected it was pretty obvious, but she didn't think Danny knew as he could tend to be a bit clueless. They had been pretty much dating for a while but she had decided to break the relationship off. She knew that it would never work out though. She didn't want to put Danny in danger if The Phantom decided to target him in order to hurt her. Still she felt guilty, she felt like Danny was about to ask her to go steady or something.

 _Danny probably noticed that I was gone earlier._ Valerie thought. Sure enough, he walked up to her a few moments later.

"Hey Valerie, I noticed you were gone yesterday. Were you sick or something?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I had a nasty bug. It's all better now though." Valerie lied with a practiced confidence. She had done so much lying lately that it just came naturally for her.

"Oh, ok. Well, I'm glad that you are feeling better." Danny said awkwardly.

"Me too." Valerie said with equal awkwardness. Every interaction between them had been awkward lately. Valerie wished that they could get over the awkwardness and just be friends again. Even if she secretly really wanted to be something more.

"Well, enjoy your day."

"You too." Valerie old Danny as he walked over to join his other friends. Valerie may have joined them if it wasn't for the fact that for some reason they didn't like her. She didn't know why this was, maybe they are just overprotective of Danny? They act like they think she is going to hurt him or something.

Valerie finished preparing for class and headed over to first period. She had English with Mr. Lancer first period. Valerie sighed, she was not looking forward to this.

Sure enough, when Mr. Lancer saw her a frown appeared on his face. "Ms. Grey, can you please come talk to me?" Mr. Lancer called.

Valerie shuffled to the front of the classroom.

"Ms. Grey, I noticed that you were absent yesterday. Yet I didn't get a call from your father explaining the absence. Can you explain why this is?" Mr. Lancer asked, frown still adorning his face.

Valerie put on her most innocent face, the one she had used on her father many times. "I don't know Mr. Lancer. I was sick yesterday and I guess that my daddy just forgot to call." Valerie said blinking her eyes innocently.

Mr. Lancer did not look convinced. "I see. Well Ms. Grey, have a seat."

Valarie sat down, glad that Mr. Lancer had not called her out on her lie.

She sat quietly in the rest of her classes, trying to take in the rest of the information. Her grades had been falling ever since she had taken up ghost hunting. While before she had gotten mostly A's and the occasional B, now she mostly got C's and D's. Another thing her father was on her about. He didn't understand how much her hunting meant to her, that it was more than a hobby. She knew that in a way he was right when he said she should stop. If her grades kept falling then she would have no hope for getting a scholarship, which was the only way she was getting into college. She knew that the only way to break out of the cycle of poverty would be a college education, but she couldn't give up ghost hunting, she just couldn't.

Valerie left as soon as the final bell rang. She was making her way too her second job when she saw a familiar figure fly by. _Well look what decided to show up._ Valarie thought with narrowed eyes. Of course, it would show up now. She ducked into an alleyway and changed into the Red Huntress. She knew that she shouldn't miss her shift, but this was important. She powered up her hover-board, taking off in the direction that The Phantom was flying.

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Hope you guys liked that! :)

I know I've said it so many times, but please review and favorite! :) By the way Cutie Pie I really enjoy how you always review, so I just wanted to say it again, you are awesome! :)


	11. The Danger

Here is another chapter! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom!

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Valerie sped up, seeing the ghost boy slowly come into view. It was flying past pursuing- wait. _Is that Ember McLain? She's a ghost?_ Valerie thought in shock. When did Ember die? Or was she/it a ghost the whole time, her/its appearance oddly hadn't changed. Well, that explained a few things that Valerie had dismissed as special effects.

 _No matter_. Valerie though. _It does not matter, Ember is not my problem._

The Phantom had caught up to the Ember ghost and was now fighting it. Valerie readied her weapons. She zoomed out from the side of a building, making a beeline for the ghosts.

The ghosts saw her coming. The Ember ghost looked ready to fight, brandishing its guitar like a weapon. The Phantom looked confused, unsure whether to fight the other ghost, fight her, or flee.

"Relax ghost, I'm not after you at the moment." Valerie informed the ghostly rock star. "I'm here for Phantom,"

The Ember ghost looked unsure but then evidentially "decided" that it was not going to fight her and possibly the other ghost. Valerie watched it fly into the distance until it was just a dot.

"Seriously, you are just going to let her go!?" Valerie heard the ghost boy yell. She immediately was reminder of what she was doing. She fired her ecto-blaster at the ghost, and it dodged.

"I mean seriously, what kind of logic is that? She was trying to hypnotize people, I stopped her, and I'm the one who you decide is a threat!" It ranted, which just provoked Valerie even more.

"Shut up ghost, you know what you've done!" Valerie spat.

Valerie chased it through the city, firing blasts at it. The ghost did loop de loops, sped up, slowed down and flew through buildings. Valerie almost lost it at one point when it turned invisible, but then Valerie remembered something that her new suit could do. With a smirk, she turned on the ghost-vision feature on her visor. The ghost was pressed against a building waiting for her to fly by. It was in for a surprise. Pretending that she still couldn't see it, she flew on, but then looped back.

The ghost, thinking that she was gone had dropped its invisibility. It was facing away from her. She snuck up behind it, blaster in hand. She was about ten feet away from it when it took off. Valerie growled in frustration. Somehow it had heard her. She was sure that her suit had been extremely silent, but maybe the ghosts enhanced hearing heard something she couldn't. She took off after the ghost, but it had a head start. She saw it speed into an alleyway just out of her sight. Just before she reached the alleyway she saw a flash of light. She sped up, skirting the ground. She turned into the alleyway, before skidding to a stop right in front of a very confused Danny Fenton.

"Red Hunter! What are you doing here!" Danny exclaimed, and Valerie froze.

"I was chasing a ghost, did you happen to see it come through? Or what caused that light?" Valerie asked, trying to sound like she didn't know him. Danny had no idea about her unusual "extra-curricular activity", and she intended to keep it that way.

"No, I didn't see a ghost or a light. Sorry?" Danny said nervously. Valerie knew that he was very scared of ghosts, he always vanished whenever a ghost came anywhere near him.

"Ok, just keep and eye out for me please?" Valerie asked.

"I will." Danny promised.

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 **Danny's POV**

After Valerie left Danny let out a sign of relief. He had gotten nervous when Valerie had asked about a light, he had thought that he was far enough ahead that she wouldn't see that. He didn't know how but somehow, she had seen through his invisibility. He was lucky that his advanced hearing had allowed him to hear her sneaking up on him. He would have to be careful about things like that in the future if she could really see through his invisibility.

He did wish that Valerie would give him a break. It was not like he was intentionally malicious like the other ghosts, he just had had a few misunderstandings. It was just his luck that out of all of the ghosts out there that were actually evil, Valerie had chosen to hunt him. _Geez, thanks Murphey._ Danny thought sarcastically.

He was only a few blocks from Fentonworks, so Danny decided it might be a good idea to walk instead of fly like he usually did. With Valerie out looking for him, it might not be a great idea to make Phantom grace her with his presence just so that Danny could save five minutes of walking. As Danny walked, he hummed a tune to himself.

Ember, you will remember.

Ember, one thing remains.

Ember, so warm and tender!

You will remember my name!

Danny paused when he realized what he was humming. _Great, the fight with Ember has left that song stuck in my head._ Danny grumbled to himself. He would never admit it to Ember, but he did actually like that song, it was a very catchy song with a good beat. Of course, that does not mean that Danny wanted the song stuck in his head.

Danny turned the corner and froze. Valerie was slumped against a wall, Skulker towering over her.

"There is only room for one hunter in town." Skulker said as he pulled out his blaster. "It has been an honor fighting you."

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Danny had only one thought in his heard. Protect Valerie. Danny lunged forward, intending to push Skulker out of the way and make his shot go off mark. Danny felt himself impact Skulker with great force at the same time he heard the blaster fire. He could only hope that he had been quick enough.

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Duh duh duh! What a cliffhanger, I'm so evil! What will happen next? Stay with me to find out!

Oh, and review and favorite and follow :)! Reviews are what motivate me to write. Since I posted like three chapters in one day I have an excuse to not update tomorrow, right? I may or may not update tomorrow, depends on if I have time and if everybody likes where this story is going :)


	12. The Rescue

Hi guys! After a one day break, I am back!

 **Lindz4567: I am glad that you like the story so far, I have every intention of continuing it. Thanks for telling me that you think that it is a little jumpy, I know I tend to rush. I will try to go more slowly in the future.**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places of the TV series Danny Phantom. I only own the story. :)

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 **Previously**

 _Danny turned the corner and froze. Valerie was slumped against a wall, Skulker towering over her._

" _There is only room for one hunter in town." Skulker said as he pulled out his blaster. "It has been an honor fighting you."_

 _Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Danny had only one thought in his heard. Protect Valerie. Danny lunged forward, intending to push Skulker out of the way and make his shot go off mark. Danny felt himself impact Skulker with great force at the same time he heard the blaster fire. He could only hope that he had been quick enough._

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 **Valerie's POV**

Valerie flew past Danny. She knew that if she didn't hurry then The Phantom could be miles from here before she could do anything about it. She still wasn't sure how it had gotten away so quickly. She had scanned the area with her ghost vision feature on while she was talking to Danny. No Phantom in sight. It had also disappeared from her trackers, another one of its "oh so wonderful" unexplained tricks. She still didn't know how it did it, though she suspected it had something to do with that flash of light she saw.

Suddenly Valerie felt something big ram into her. She bit down on her tongue as she was almost knocked out of the air by the impact. Valerie wasted no time trying to recover, she rose back up in the air, whipping around to face The Phantom.

But it was not The Phantom. It was the hunter ghost. _What did it call itself again?_ Valerie mused, then dismissed the thought as irrelevant. How did it sneak up on her though? She heard a beep on her locator, alerting her that a ghost was near. She nearly groaned. She had been watching for The Phantom's signal on her locator, not for another ghost's signal. She had purposefully edited the settings on her suit so that the Phantom's signal flashed brighter, as she had thought that other ghosts would only be a distraction while the Phantom was nearby. Scanning for this bright, big dot had made her gaze skip over the little orange dot that had been following her. She hadn't even noticing the beeping that the device had been giving off, the wind had quieted it and she had been too focused on the Phantom to hear what part of the noise had remained.

The hunter ghost had a horrible snarky grin on its face. "I came for the ghost child, but you will have to do for now huntress."

"Not today ghost!" Valerie yelled with much bravado as she powered up her ecto- launcher.

She fired three missiles at the ghost. The missiles whistled, gaining speed as they sped toward their target. Valerie grinned. This was even easier then she had expected. The grin was wiped off her face when the ghost simply phased through them.

"My turn!" The ghost said, the shark-like grin still adorning its "face". Valerie moved to dodge whatever attack it was about to fire, but it seemed that it was ready for this. A net flew out of its mechanical suit, and Valerie flew right into it and immediately became tangled up in the net. She immediately pulled out a multi-tool and began to cut herself loose, but the net was strong. Though it was working, it was a very slow process. Too slow.

"You see huntress, you could not win. For I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter! I will-" Suddenly Valerie heard a boom. She looked up from trying to cut loose the net just in time to see the ghost face plant into the ground. Valerie almost winced. If the ghost could actually feel that would have been very painful. _But it can't feel_. Valerie reminded herself. _Ghosts have no nerves, it is a scientifically proven fact._

After a minute Valerie finally managed to cut herself free of the net. After further examination, she realized that the ghost was indeed unconscious. The only question was what had caused it to be so. Valerie thought for a minute, but then remembered something. How could she have forgotten? The missiles were tracker missiles. They operated similar to the ones that the government had created to track heat, except these missiles tracked a ghost's ecto-signature. After being phased through the missiles had just turned around and targeted the ghost again. This time the ghost was not expecting it and had not been able to turn intangible in time. She still wasn't sure how she forgot that, but then again it had been a pretty new feature.

She then turned around to examine the net. It was glowing green, and had a texture that was unusual for ectoplasm. It felt rough almost like a real rope. She wondered if-

 **Boom**

Valerie heard the impact before she felt it. She was slammed against the wall by a missile similar to hers. She was very sore, but she knew that without her suit's protection it would have been worse. Much worse.

She blinked her eyes open, coughing from the dust surrounding her. When the dust started to clear, she saw the ghost leering down at her. "There is only room for one hunter in town." The ghost said as it pulled out a huge ecto-blaster. "It has been an honor fighting you."

Valerie tried to stand up, but his vision split and she was hit by a wave of dizziness. Maybe I'm a little more than just sore. Valerie thought as she fell back down.

Valerie stared at the ghost, knowing what was to come. Her Dad had always warned her that ghost hunting would be the death of her, who knew he was right?

Suddenly Valerie heard a noise. She and the ghost both turned their heads left to see… Danny Fenton? Yes, she was not hallucinating. Danny was standing right there with a shocked expression on his face. _Run away,_ Valerie urged him in her head. _Forget you ever saw this. Just go._ Valerie was sure that he would run. After all Danny was not the bravest person out there. But to Valerie's surprise and horror, he didn't.

Danny instead charged at the ghost, as if intending to ram him. Valerie winced. This was not going to end well. Danny had almost no muscles, it was a well-known fact among his classmates and friends. He always failed gym. No, Danny would fail this too.

Valerie closed her eyes, awaiting the impact, wishing there was something she could do to prevent the angry ghost from hurting Danny. But there wasn't. She was so dizzy that she couldn't even save herself, least of all Danny. She heard a blast. She hoped Danny was ok and that the blast had missed him. She hoped that he had run back home or to get help. Even though it would be too late. She waited. And waited. And waited. After what seemed like forever she cracked open her eyes to see… Danny? Valerie saw no sign of the ghost, just Danny.

Danny was to her right, panting from exertion. He was clutching a –was that a GCD- in his fist. It was almost exactly like except instead of red, the lining was green. It made sense that Danny would have access to ghost hunting technology –he was a Fenton after all- but what made no sense was why he would have it with him. After all Danny Fenton was not a ghost hunter, was he?

As Danny turned around, the first thing that she noticed was the anger that clouded his face. Valerie was taken aback. She had never seen that expression on his face before, it scared her. And the second thing she noticed was that his eyes were glowing a bright, sickly green and his hair was pure, snowy white.

Phantom.

Now she recognized the GCD, it was the one that The Phantom always carried around with it. She shrunk back in fear, she didn't know what had happened or how The Phantom had gotten here, but she knew one thing. With it here she was doomed. She saw was the snow-white hair fade to black and the luminescent green eyes fade to blue until all that was left was Danny, staring down at her with concern. This was the last thing Valerie saw before she passed out.

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Duh duh duh! Yeah I know that the whole troubles with his powers thing may have seemed a bit un-necessary but I feel like his human form would have enough strength to shove Skulker, and he had milliseconds to react so he didn't have time to go ghost or anything. So, Valerie wouldn't have seen anything unusual about it except Danny being brave. Nothing to cause the events to come. Besides I don't want this to be identical to all of the other stories, this is something that helps set it apart. Anyways, hope you guys liked the update!


	13. The Result

Hi guys I'm back!

 **Ikespires: Wow, thanks! I guess I do really like cliffhangers, do I really use them that much though? Lol. Glad to see that you have been sticking with the story, your review was one of the ones that motivated me to continue it. I am glad that I have succeeded in keeping your interest :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. I don't own any characters, or the setting. I own nothing but the plot. I repeat, I own nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

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 **Previously…..**

 _She shrunk back in fear, she didn't know what had happened or how The Phantom had gotten here, but she knew one thing. With it here she was doomed. She saw was the snow-white hair fade to black and the luminescent green eyes fade to blue until all that was left was Danny, staring down at her with concern. This was the last thing Valerie saw before she passed out._

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Valerie snuggled closer into her pillow, shielding her eyes from the sunlight shielding her room. She knew she hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Actually, she didn't really remember going to bed last night. The last thing she remembered was… _Danny!_

Valerie jolted out of bed. The ghost had her trapped, and then Danny- Valerie paused. Her memories made no sense. _Maybe it was all a bad dream?_ Valerie wondered. Her hopes were shattered when she felt a wave of nausea result from sitting up. Nope, it had happened. Besides, Valerie didn't remember going to sleep, which meant that had all just happened.

Valerie stumbled into the bathroom, splashing water in her face. She examined where she had hit her head, there was a bump emerging. Luckily, she didn't think it was any worse than a concussion. Though having a concussion wasn't fun, it wasn't life threatening either.

What Valerie didn't understand was how she had gotten back to her room. Why did Phantom let her go? Then Valerie froze and once again her thoughts rushed to one person-Danny! He had turned into The Phantom! Well, a different Phantom. It had had Danny's clothes and lacked the ghostly aura, but the eyes and hair were very different. Valerie knew that The Phantom had somehow possessed Danny, but she didn't know how.

The Phantom must have flown into Danny just before he rammed the ghost. She would have noticed if Danny's eyes were green, wouldn't she have? The one thing that stumped her was why had Danny's hair turned white? Possession does not make your hair change color, of this Valerie was sure.

Valerie shook herself out of her trance. She had to make sure Danny was alright. She thought she had seen Danny shake himself out of the trance, and he had presumably been the one to get her home- How did he do that anyway? He didn't have the keys- but she still had to make sure he was ok. The Phantom could have hurt him!

Valerie ran out the door, ignoring her father's startled face. She didn't have time to explain any of this to him. She ducked around the corner, and powered up her hover-board; with one destination fixed clearly in her mind. Her mind played over ideas of what would happen when she arrived there. When she arrived at Fentonworks.

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 **Danny's POV**

Danny carefully picked up Valerie's limp form. He quickly searched for a heartbeat, giving out a sigh of relief when he found one. She was just unconscious then. Danny

Danny had reacted quickly and out of instinct. He had tackled Skulker out of the way, sucking him up in the thermos before he could react. He had turned around to see Valerie blinking up at him. He had watched with growing concern as she had passed out.

Phasing through the wall to her room, Danny felt grateful for her survival. He knew that if he had been a second later then he would probably have been too late. He lay Valerie gently in her bed. Letting out a sigh, he turned to leave. After sneaking one last sad look at Valerie, Danny phased through the wall, heading home. It was only about 8'oclock. If he hurried home he could get a full night's rest.

As Danny flew home he once again reflected on how lucky he had been. Valerie had seemed to be hardly injured, just disoriented. And though he knew that she had seen him ram Skulker, he assumed that she probably would just put down his weird actions as the result of adrenaline. He was almost glad that he didn't have time to react, if he had then he probably would have instinctively turned into Phantom. All Valerie had seen was plain old Danny Fenton, no Phantom involved. Yes, it was almost a good thing, almost.

Danny sunk into his bed, he couldn't believe it. This had to be the first time in months that he had gone to bed before 10 o'clock. Still, he was dead tired from the events of the day. And Danny thought he had a right to be, days like this could put years on a person. He didn't even bother changing into his pajamas, he just slept clothes and all.

Danny woke up, feeling well rested for the first time in forever. He checked the clock, it was 8 o'clock. _Why didn't my alarm go off?_ Danny wondered, before remembering the answer with a grin. It was the weekend! Though Danny didn't exactly get the break that the other kids got during the weekend what with ghost hunting and all, his schedule was certainly a lot less busy. This was a fact that he appreciated to no end.

Danny heard a doorbell ring. It was probably Valerie here to see him. Sure enough, he heard his Mom call up to him.

"Sweety, somebody is here to see you!"

Coming Mom!" Danny replied. Sure enough, Valerie was standing there, she looked relieved when she saw him.

"I'm glad you are alright." Valerie said, the relief clear in her voice.

"I'm glad that you are too." Danny motioned for her to come in, then shut the door behind them.

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Ok, well it is getting late so that is all for now! Bye!


	14. The Realization

And, we are back!

 **GhostWriterGirl** **: I am glad that you like my story this much! I am planning on making this a reveal fic. As for how she figures it out, I have some ideas for how- but I am not completely certain yet. I do have something that I am going for but as I said I just know the general direction. If you have any ideas you would like to implement feel free to PM me and I would be glad to try and implement them! No, Dani will not be in this fic. It takes place before she was created. Though I love Dani I just couldn't make her fit with this story. Valerie softens up after meeting Dani and I don't want her to have doubts about Danny Phantom's "evilness". I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations!**

 **Ikspires: You caught me. I did it again. After much reflection, I have decided that I do indeed use a TON of cliffhangers! Lol. I guess I just like how cliffhangers make you want to keep reading, and they are a simple but effective way to end a chapter or even a story. So, I don't suppose I will stop using them anytime soon!**

 **Guest: I am glad that you like it and want it to continue!**

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own anything to do with Danny Phantom. I own the plot but none of the characters or settings.

Now that that is out of the way, on with the story! Oh, wait just a second.

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Just to recap, Valerie doesn't know that Danny knows her identity as the Red Hunter. She thinks that he was for some reason possessed by Phantom as he was about to ram Skulker r, then fought off the obsession. She is checking on Danny to make sure he is ok and see if she can figure out the reasons behind his hair color change. She is is still not sure how he got her home.

Danny does not know that his eye and hair color changed. He thinks Valerie is here just to make sure he is ok.

Ok, NOW on with the story.

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 **Valerie's POV**

As Valerie stood on the doorstep, she felt butterflies rise in her stomach. As she rang the doorbell, worries raced through her head. What if The Phantom had re-overshadowed Danny later? What if it had hurt him?

A moment later Mrs. Fenton opened the door. She didn't look distraught or worried, which meant that Danny was probably ok. As both a ghost hunter and a mother Mrs. Fenton would have noticed if Danny was taken by ghosts or returned home overshadowed.

"Hello dear, Valerie right? Danny is in his room if you want to talk to him. I assume that is why you are here." Mrs. Fenton deduced.

"Yes it is, thank you Mrs. Fenton." Valerie respectfully answered.

"Sweety, somebody is here to see you!" Mrs. Fenton called up the stairs, presumably to Danny.

Sure enough, Danny came rushing down the stairs. He didn't look surprised to see her, which surprised Valerie. She hadn't visited his house since- well- forever ago.

Maddie walked off in the direction of the lab. Danny came down the rest of the way and stood facing Valerie. Valerie carefully examined him for any traces of Phantom. No white hair, green eyes, or anything remotely ghostly about him. And no signs of injury, thank goodness. Satisfied that Danny was unharmed and ghost free, Valerie spoke.

"I'm glad that you are alright." Valerie said, her relief leaking through her tone. She immediately bit her tongue. She wasn't supposed to know about what had happened last night, she had no reason to worry about him. After all, Danny didn't know that she was the Red Hunter.

Valerie evidentially needn't have worried. Danny didn't look perplexed at all by her answer. "I'm glad that you are too." _That's odd, he acts like he was worried for me which he has no reason to be._ Valerie thought. _It must have just been an automatic reply_. _He must not have been fully listening._

And so, Valerie dismissed the thought. Danny motioned for her to follow, and they both went into Danny's room, which Valerie found to be oddly neat for a teenage boy's bedroom.

Danny noticed her ogling at the cleanliness of his room. "Yeah, Jazz always makes sure my room is all tidy. I told her that she doesn't have to pick it up, but she insists that it drives her nuts whenever she sees the mess."

Valerie nodded in understanding, that did seem like something Jazz would do.

"So," Danny said. "what did you need to talk to me about?" Danny asked.

Valerie wasn't sure what to say now. She had been in such a hurry to get here, she had not really taken the time to make up an excuse.

"I uh…" Valerie struggled for words, while Danny watched with an expectant look on his face.

"I kinda saw you last night. You know, with the ghost and the Red Hunter? I was walking home –" Valerie suddenly realized something. Danny didn't know she was the Red Hunter, so how did she end up in her bed- unless…

"Oh yeah, that?" Danny looked at her, a look of confusion. "I didn't see you there. I guess I was a bit distracted."

Valerie just stared at him. If Danny hadn't taken her home- as he hadn't confronted her about being the huntress she knew he hadn't discovered it last night- who did? Could it have been a ghost. If so, which ghost and why. Could it have been Phantom, if so why would he have…..

After a minute of silence, Valerie finally spoke. "You know, I ran away from there when I saw the ghost, because you know how dangerous they are. I assume you did too, but did you see anything odd before you ran?"

Danny took a moment as if thinking of how to respond. "Yeah, I actually didn't end up running. I actually head-butted the ghost. I guess adrenaline can do wonders, because it actually moved. I trapped it in this thermos I had, my parents had made it into a ghost catcher but it worked just fine for carrying the soup I had for lunch. I guess I was lucky that I had decided to take soup yesterday."

This made sense to Valerie, maybe The Phantom had stolen a copy of the "thermos" from the Fentons. But still, there were a couple things missing from his explanation. "What happened after that?" Valerie inquired. "I saw that the Red Hunter was unconscious, what happened to her?"

"I don't know," Danny said looking embarrassed. "Once the adrenaline ran out I got scared and fled. You know how scared I am of ghosts. The ghost was gone, so I bet she woke up a minute later and flew home." Valerie nodded in sympathy, knowing how scared Danny must have been. She felt a bit irritated that he had just left her, but then again Danny had not known it was her.

"I saw you fight off Phantom when he possessed you, that was very brave of you." Valerie said. "It must have been exhausting, shaking off the overshadowing. I don't blame you for running. Phantom had such a strong grip on you that your hair changed color, which I didn't even know was possible! Anyone would have been tired and scared after that." Valerie re-assured him. Danny just looked confused.

"But I don't remember being possessed. After you passed out I-"Danny suddenly shut his mouth like he had realized something. Valerie peered at him suspiciously. Why wouldn't he remember being possessed? If he had fought it then he had obviously known it was happening and had been conscious, so then why would he not- Valerie froze as she realized what he had said. "After you passed out- ". She hadn't passed out, the Red Hunter had, or at least that was what Danny should think.

Did that mean that Danny knew who she was? Then why wouldn't he say? Why would he lie and say that he didn't? If he didn't fight off the posesion, then why did The Phantom let him go. Unless, it didn't! Thoughts raced through Valerie's head a mile a minute. If a ghost was powerful enough to change a human's haircolor along with their eyes, could they do the opposite? Could they make it so that nothing changed, so that the human looks normal?

Suddenly, it all fit! That wasn't Danny, it was-

"Umm. Valerie? Are you ok? You kind of spaced out?" "Danny" said nervously.

"Oh sorry, Danny." Valerie pretended to apologize. "Or should I say, Phantom!"

Valerie summoned her largest ecto-blaster, holding it right against its head. "Alright you ghostly freak, you are going to release Danny right now, and then you are going to explain what in the world is going on!"

It laughed softly and nervously, raising Danny's hands in a sign of surrender.

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Ok guys, I just have a few questions.

Can you see where this is going?

Have you noticed any plot holes?

Is the writing flowing smoothly or is it a still bit jumpy?

Bye for now, Phoenix Inferno


	15. The Heartbeat

Ok guys! Yes, I know, another brutal cliffhanger! Anyways, thanks for the new favorites and follows I received! You guys are the best! Special thanks to my lovely reviewers! I just love hearing my phone buzz with a review! By the way, I found out that the theme song of Danny Phantom was not the original. I don't know if you knew this already but for me this was amazing, so here is the link if you want to check it out. It has the original song in it if you find that interesting. watch?v=JUxNZCJSMTI

 **GhostWriterGirl: I am glad that you took the time to review again! I like how you are always guessing what will happen next and asking questions, it helps me tell if the story is getting predictable. Besides, your excitement is contagious! Your idea is correct!**

 **Jeffrey4: Yep, that's me! I'm so evil!**

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 **Previously…..**

 _Suddenly, it all fit! That wasn't Danny, it was-_

" _Umm. Valerie? Are you ok? You kind of spaced out?" "Danny" said nervously._

" _Oh sorry, Danny." Valerie pretended to apologize. "Or should I say, Phantom!"_

 _Valerie summoned her largest ecto-blaster, holding it right against its head. "Alright you ghostly freak, you are going to release Danny right now, and then you are going to explain what in the world is going on!"_

 _It laughed softly and nervously, raising Danny's hands in a sign of surrender._

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Valerie paused, an expression that Danny didn't recognize growing on her face.

"Umm. Valerie? Are you ok?" Danny questioned with worry and nervousness.

He thought that he had been acting pretty well, until Valerie had mentioned him being overshadowed. He had thought aloud, he didn't really even remember what he had said. When he had realized what had happened, he resisted the urge to face palm. Of course. Charging at ghosts was something that Danny Phantom would do, not Danny Phantom. Valerie would be surprised since Danny knew that fighting off an overshadowing is hard. Very hard. As in something that is hardly believable that wimpy Danny Fenton could do hard.

"Oh, sorry Danny." Valerie apologized. Danny held back a sigh of relief. Maybe he was over-reacting. Maybe Valerie had noted the oddness but dismissed it like she had dismissed so many other things. Maybe she had remembered something that she needed to do that had absolutely nothing to do with this. Maybe-

"Or should I say, Phantom!" Valerie suddenly shouted. Before Danny could blink, the biggest ecto-blaster he had ever seen (and he had seen a lot) was leveled at his head.

While Danny stood frozen, his mind was racing. He knew that Valerie was speaking, but her voice was drowned out by his thoughts. How did she figure it out? How did she know that he was a halfa? He had done such a good job hiding it, he had not even vaguely resembled Danny Phantom when he was Fenton. Or at least, he hadn't until last night. Darn it. It wouldn't take much for even for someone who didn't know about halfas to piece it together, as Valerie obviously had. And obviously even knowing that he was half human had not scored him any points with Valerie.

Danny raised his hands into the air in the universal sign of surrender, letting loose a nervous chuckle. "Ok, you got me."

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 **Valerie's POV**

The ghost possessing Danny then spoke. Valerie could tell it was "nervous", she could hear it in its voice. "Ok, you got me."

Valerie snarled at it. Trying to hurt her was one thing, but harming Danny was another. Danny was innocent. "Ok Phantom," Valerie said, spitting out the ghost's chosen name like an insult. "You better start explaining right this instant."

"I guess I better do that." The ghost replied. Before Valerie could blink, a ring of light formed around Danny's waist. Valerie gaped at it as it split in two, not even thinking to move or react. She watched in wonder as it traveled up and down Danny's body, revealing Phantom.

Valerie startled. She had known that it was there, but seeing it with her own eyes was different. The ghost looked at her oddly, almost nervously. It was now hovering above her head. She snapped out of her trance, once again leveling the blaster. She then realized what was missing. Where was Danny?! "W- " Valerie started to say before it interrupted her.

"I'm sorry Valerie, I wanted to tell you. The portal, I went in it. The button was on the inside, and it turned on and-" Its voice stopped as it saw the look she was giving it.

"Wait, you went into the portal then turned it on? As in the Fenton portal? But that amount of pure energy would-" Valerie's voice petered out in realization. While she didn't feel pity for the ghost in front of her, she did feel bad for the kid who it resembled. She wondered how he even got into the Fenton's lab. It must have hurt a lot.

"Yeah, it killed me." The ghost confirmed. "Well, halfway anyways."

Valerie's head reeled in confusion. "What do you mean halfway?"

"Well, when I activated my parent's portal, it killed me halfway. I am a ghost, but I am still living. I even have a heartbeat." The -ghost? - said. It extended its wrist. Valerie

Valerie listened in stunned silence. It had said "my parent's portal." That meant that… Danny. Valerie's heart cried out in agony. Her best friend and longtime crush could not be dead, could not be a ghost. It was not possible!

She held her finger against its palm, feeling for the delicate pulse of a heartbeat. She waited five seconds, and felt nothing. She sighed in relief, just your typical lying ghost. But then she heard it. A soft and slow pulse. It was very slow, as if it's owner was in a coma. But it was there. _But ghosts don't have heartbeats…_

It –no he- landed on the floor. The rings formed around his waist and once again split, revealing Danny Fenton standing there looking worried. "Surprise?"

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Duh duh duh! Wow, that was intense. Well, this seems like a good place to stop. I'm so evil! :)


	16. The End

I'm back! I am so happy that this story has been so well received! Thank you guys so much! By the way I realized that the link came out wonky for some reason, so here it is if you want to watch it. I personally find it really interesting, but that is just an opinion. watch?v=UDn7tSHwyXI

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. Do I really even need to say this again?

 **Jefferey4: Well, I guess it depends on your opinion. Thanks for reviewing again!**

 **GhostWriterGirl: I am glad that you thought that the chapter was really, really good! Well, now the wait is over, here is the next chapter so you don't have to be nervous anymore!**

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 **Previously**

 _It- no he- landed on the floor. The rings formed around his waist and once again split, revealing Danny Fenton standing there looking worried. "Surprise?"_

Valerie was frozen in place. Here she was, facing that her best friend and crush were the same person. And it was killing her soul. She tried to vehemently defy the fact in her mind, but it was indisputable. There was no way that it could be a lie. She had to face this, but she knew that doing this would make everything she knew -everything she believed to be true- crash and burn.

When Valerie's body was flooded by this tsunami of emotions, it was overwhelmed. The fear, surprise, horror and shock all overwhelmed her. Her mind -unable to work out all of the emotions rushing down on her- reverted to a primordial instinct that existed in all living creatures. This instinct was fight or flight.

As Valerie's mind was unable to label Danny as an enemy as he was well, Danny; that left only one option. Valerie was on auto-pilot, she acted without even thinking. She activated her suit, and rushed out the window faster then she had even known that her suit was capable of. She didn't stop, she kept flying. She knew if she stopped or even slowed down then she would have to think, to acknowledge what had just happened. So Valerie did not stop. She kept flying, leaving behind a stunned Danny to stare out the window as she slowly faded into the distance. As he stared at the bright blue sky, he massaged his head and wondered where everything had gone wrong, where it had gone from simple to confusing. He spent the rest of the day watching the clouds roll acrost the sky, lost in deep though.

Valerie flew for what seemed like hours. She felt the wind rushing past her face. She felt tears streaming down from her eyes. The sun had set hours ago, and Valerie knew it was getting late, but she didn't care. She flew, and flew, and flew until she had cried herself out. She finally settled down on top of one of Amity's many skyscrapers. Nothing made sense anymore. Valerie tried not to think, but now that she had stopped moving it was impossible. It was impossible for someone to be dead and alive at the same time, right? Logic told her that is was, but she had witnessed it with her own eyes and felt the heartbeat. Did that mean that Danny was evil, that he had done all of the things that Phantom had _? It must, because evidentially they were the same person._ Valerie thought angrily.

Valerie froze as something occurred to her. Did this mean that Danny had tried to kill her? The thought horrified her. She knew that if he was part ghost, this probably meant that he was at least partly evil. But he had seemed so genuine, she couldn't believe that he would try to-

Valerie's eyes widened briefly as she realized something. Danny Fenton had seen her at the same time as her suit. This meant that since he was Phantom- an idea she still wasn't used to- had known that she wasn't in the suit. This meant that he didn't try to kill her, that he didn't want her dead.

Valerie smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days. It wasn't much, but this knowledge made her feel so much better. She flew upwards, nearly grazing the sizes of the buildings as she flew past. She could feel fatigue dragging her down, and sleep would provide an escape from her now even more overly complicated life. And so, Valerie headed home.

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Time skip

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Valerie was dreading Monday. She didn't want to go to school. School was where Danny was. Valerie knew that she could probably skip school again, but she knew there would be consequences from both her father and possibly her teachers. She did not want truancy officers getting involved. Besides, she knew that she would have to face Danny eventually.

As Valerie slowly pulled on her book bag, she felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. Her Dad had flashed her several worried glances, he knew something was up but could not tell what. Valerie had a strategy for today. She would ignore Danny, pretend that he didn't exist. She knew that ignoring her problems would not make them go away, but it was working so far. She had ignored 34 text messages, 15 calls, and 12 voice messages so far from Danny. She wished she could just mute her phone or something but the mute didn't even work properly on the stupid, ridiculously cheap phone. So, she settled for smothering it under her pillow, which muffled much less then she had hoped it would.

The day passed extremely slowly. The minutes crawled by at snail's pace. Valerie spent the entire day staring at the clock, feeling like she was underwater. Danny had tried frantically to catch her attention at first, but then had seemingly realized that she was not going to talk to him. Valerie didn't even to bother to get up when a ghost attacked, she left it all to Danny. Danny, who was her best friend. Danny, who was her crush. Danny, who was a ghost.

When the final bell rang after what seemed like eons, Valerie rushed out of the classroom faster than the blink of an eye. She was out of there before Danny –who had seemed especially worried when she ignored the ghost- could chase after her.

Valerie's feelings about Danny were still a jumbled mess. On one hand, he was Danny He was the sweetest, nicest person she knew. On the other hand, he had done a lot of awful things, such as kidnapping the mayor and stealing all of that stuff. Which didn't make sense now that she thought about it. Why would Danny kidnap the mayor, or steal that stuff? Before she would have blamed it on ghost nature, but now she wasn't sure. She had thought that he had tried to destroy her, but that had turned out to be a misunderstanding. Could this be a misunderstanding too? She remembered that the jewelry had turned up in the hands of a random guy named Freakshow who was arrested, but why would that be?

Valerie pushed these thoughts to the side, they were way too confusing. She acted like a robot for the rest of the evening. If she didn't think, then she couldn't feel the emotional pain that tormented her. She moved without emotion, mechanically stacking dishes and serving customers. She seemed to be on another world, until she was forced out of her trance by a huge blast rocking the building.

She ran outside the building to see the cause of the commotion, closely followed by all of her coworkers and the customers. She pushed through the crowd trying to see what was going on.

Phantom was being held against the wall by another ghost. It was a hulking ghost whom Valerie didn't recognize.

"You shall pay for your crimes against us halfa!" The unknown ghost cried. It's voice sounded like five voices speaking at once. Phantom was trapped. There was no way for him to escape.

Valerie bit her lip. She hated seeing Danny in this situation. But what could she do. Besides, he was just a ghost.

 _No!_ Valerie told herself. He is more than just a ghost. He is also human, and he is also Danny! I have to help him!

Valerie ran away from the crowd, ducking into a deserted shop. Seconds later the Red Hunter was flying towards the two ghosts. She rammed the huge ghost, causing him to drop Danny who looked up at her in surprise.

"Valerie, but does this mean?" Danny asked with a touch of hope in is voice.

"Yes." Valerie affirmed. And she meant it. No matter what he had done, he was still Danny. And she would not desert him when he needed her most. He was her best friend, maybe even something more. She was sure that he had his reasons for what he had done, but they didn't matter right now.

The huge ghost rose, it was clearly angry. "You will suffer for that!"

The ghost split into five, with each of its copies turning a different color.

"Yay, let's do this!" The pink one cried happily.

"We'll rip you to shreds!" Yelled the red one.

"Do we have to fight him?" The yellow one whined nervously. "He looks scary!"

The blue one just cried and the original one was fuming.

"We will make you pay Phantom! And the Hunter will be made to regret aiding you!" The original uttered.

Danny looked to Valerie who gave him a nod in confirmation.

 _Let's do this._

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Done! This is the official end of the story. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Thank you guys so much for all of your support! Special thanks to Cutiepie120048, Ikspires, GhostWriterGirl, and Jeffrey4 for repeatedly commenting! You guys are the greatest and your reviews helped motivate me so much! :)


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